Two days ago, someone from my small and select group of Facebook friends posted this message: While watching a film awards ceremony, it struck me that most of the proceedings were in English, not Hindi.
I love a good rant as much as I love ranting. But at times, I rant about someone else's rant. This is one of those times. Two days ago, someone from my small and select group of Facebook friends posted this message: While watching a film awards ceremony, it struck me that most of the proceedings were in English, not Hindi. Although the awards were meant to celebrate films made in Hindi! Even the winners spoke in English. Clearly, we have this generation of performers that depends on Hindi films for their wealth, adulation etc, but won't be caught dead speaking the language outside of their films. Makes one wonder, can most of our actors read/write in Hindi, or are the Hindi dialogues in the Roman script?"
Kahaan hai Hindi?
I resisted, saying that, in fact, most actors do not get scripts and dialogues in the Devanagari script. Almost all actors on the big and the small screen, get Hindi lines written In English (Amitabh Bachchan is an exception). Most writers don't even write in Hindi! I spend some time reading some of the angry comments (all in English, even though there is a Hindi Facebook version available) under my friend's post. In reply to one of the comments, my friend said: I'm far from a Hindi advocate, but if the lack of Hindi in a Hindi film awards show irked me, I can imagine how the Hindi-speaking population must feel." Man has a point. If a Hindi film fan -- didn't speak English and was watching an award function of Hindi films in English, it would probably annoy him/her. My mom loves to watch award shows on TV. And while she understands and speaks the language, I am sure she would enjoy it more, if it were in Hindi. However, I'm glad the recently telecast Filmfare awards show was not in Hindi. Alia telling SRK, "Pant nikal kar host karo." would sound way cruder than it did in angrezi. (BTW, what's the Hindi word for tasteless?)
A study in contrasts
Also, oddly, the awards shows are aired on Hindi channels. The channels pay organisers hefty sums... so, shouldn't they be thinking about their viewers? They dictate everything from attendance to performances, so they in the position to demand that if not HIndi, at least the show should be in Hinglish? Imagine Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma on Star World or Comedy Central. Odd, right? But now one questions English content on a Hindi channel. So why place the burden of speaking in Hindi only on the actors?The paper I edit is about Bollywood and it is in English. There are more film magazines In English than in Hindi. We have more English medium schools than those that teach Hindi. If actors use English at their work place, so do all of us. And I am not just talking media offices. Banks, advertising agencies, PR firms, hospitality and travel industry, hotels, everyone speaks in English. If they didn't, they wouldn't be in those jobs.
Following trends
I would rant if an actor working in the Hindi film industry didn't speak the language. Or didn't make the effort to learn it. I really don't lose any sleep over which language their work sheets are in. Fact is, most actors speak in Hindi, as well as they speak English. Watch footage of them talking to a Hindi channel or radio station and find out for yourself. I have seen many of them interact comfortably with their fans who don't speak English. Award functions started over 50 years ago, and the trend continues. Actors today are merely following the trend. Change begins with one person. And hopefully, one of the newer actors will make his next speech in Hindi and that will become a trend.
A few months ago, Ranveer Singh made a video to announce his next film with YRF and he spoke in English in the entire clip. Two days ago, Parineeti Chopra announced her next film with YRF. She also made a video, but spoke entirely in Hindi. Khush?
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